On Sept. 30, 2026, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a final rule, rolling back its Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, lowering the target from 50.4 to 34.9 miles per gallon by 2031. The rule takes effect on Nov. 30, 2026.
NHTSA confined its analysis to four factors: “technological feasibility, economic practicability, the need of the United States to conserve energy, and the effect of other motor vehicle standards of the Government on fuel economy.”
The rule narrowed NHTSA’s upstream and cumulative environmental impact analysis. Relying on its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, the rule concluded that under the Supreme Court’s interpretation of NEPA in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, NHTSA was not obligated to analyze upstream or cumulative impacts falling outside its Energy Policy and Conservation Act authority. NHTSA further concluded that because E.O. 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity) revoked E.O. 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations), NHTSA was not required to assess disproportionate environmental or human health impacts the rule could have on minority populations and low-income communities.